Discrimination, whether raced-based, caste-based, gender-based, or religion-based is just plain discrimination and it springs from ignorance and has no spiritual value. It only serves to distance us from other human beings and from God. It breeds more hatred and disunity inside of the person discriminating.

That's what Hollywood would have you believe as it entices you to leave your home on Christmas Day so you catch the release of its new blockbuster about a Navy SEAL sniper who kills so-called bad people.

Today, I write a letter from the jailhouse of race. This jail has no visible walls, but there are walls nonetheless. If we do not rise up against them and tear them down, we will remain trapped and afraid.

Whether for good or for ill, however, and despite whatever attempts Western powers have made to influence the outcome, the change of government is ultimately the responsibility of Ukrainians, not the Obama administration.

The Egyptian military clearly has the upper hand at this time, but their hold on power is ultimately fragile. The younger generation of Egyptians will not likely be satisfied with military rule any more than they were with Mubarak or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Together, we can choose to celebrate this Valentine's Day by expressing unconditional, real love in its deepest and widest sense -- truly affirming love for our LGBTQ selves, for each other, for our allies and even for our "enemies."

In the weeks since his death at age 95, Nelson Mandela's thinking on the strategic direction of the liberation struggle in South Africa has been oversimplified by proponents of nonviolent and armed resistance alike.

I love this picture. I've been showing it in my classes for more than a decade. But why in the world would I -- an activist committed to consistent nonviolence -- appreciate a portrayal of Jesus that is blended with Che Guevara?

For those who follow the Christian faith, as Ms. Tuff does, she anchored her faith not in a violent response, but remembering her pastor's teachings (you hear that pastors!) she empathized with Mr. Hill and related to him by reflecting on her own life and the lives of her children.

My 90th birthday is here. Did I make a contribution, have a good time, live wisely, maybe accomplish something? Frankly, I don't know. I didn't find life a big performance as much as a steady marathon race.

Despite formally handing over power on April 12, however, the junta continued to arrest opponents and still wields considerable influence. Scattered fighting between rival armed forces erupted in the capital last week.

The best hope for Syria is that continued protests, strikes and other forms of nonviolent resistance will cause enough disruption that powerful economic interests would force the government to negotiate with the opposition for a transfer of power to a democratic majority.

There are still reasons to be hopeful that the so-called "Arab Spring" will transform the Middle East for the better. It took nearly a decade between the first strikes in the Gdansk Shipyard and the fall of communism in Poland.

The downfall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime is very good news, particularly for the people of Libya. However, it is critically important that the world not learn the wrong lessons from the dictator's overthrow.